Tapetud laps ja lapsetapmine p rimuses sotsiokultuurilisel taustal

On a wider basis, the topic of the dead child in folklore includes conceptions like the born dead, children dying or killed in infancy or childhood. In the present paper, the only discussed phenomenon of the kind is that of killing or executing the child. In Estonian folklore, the killer is most commonly the single mother. There are texts where the characters are both murdered children and their mothers; in others only one of the two is active and the other is only mentioned, if even that. As Estonian folklore lacks legends of independent supranormal childkilling beings, folkloristic treatment of the material would allow focusing only on the character of the murdered child. In the present paper I have tried to give the wider background of the phenomenon, making it necessary to pay attention to social factors and view the material from a wider point of view.